Today's ride comprised Dave, Rob, Mark, Nige, Paul, Angelo and I. Everyone dressed for the sunshine and Rob had his new orange kit to match his new orange bike. He was certainly doing his bit for the Welsh/Dutch relationship! Off we went via Ponty and over the climb from Ferndale, where Angelo gave Rob a run for his money. The road to Aberdare was closed with several fences and barriers, but of course that did not stop us getting through! It was a joy to ride for a few miles with no traffic whatsoever.
Mark could not bear not to stop at Bradley's so we left him there and we stopped briefly at Hirwaun to fill up the bottles and for Angelo to have one of his 9 gels! Then off to Penderyn and a right turn along Cwm Cadlan. This is truly a beautiful stretch of road and today it was absolutely glorious in the sunshine. Some more climbing took us into Dowlais and to The Cheesecake Guy. We last attempted to visit this on Easter Sunday when it was closed so I was eagerly looking forward to it and was not disappointed! Having stuffed ourselves with cheesecake washed down with full fat Coke, we were thankful for a largely downhill ride home.
